Dangerous Territory
by ReaOfSunshine
Summary: SPOILERS FOR THE S9 FINALE! Oneshot. Post-finale. Tony and Ziva stuck on an elevator together... what could happen? Answer: mutilated idioms, serious talks, and stupid jokes. Very slight Tony/Ziva. My first fanfic; any reviews are appreciated!


**A/N: Hello, everyone. This is another fanfic about the finale. I'm sorry if this parallels someone else's story; I wrote this two days ago but was unable to upload it because I just made this account and there's a two day waiting period. So, obviously, I'm new here and this is my first fanfic. Reviews with constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS.**

**Dangerous Territory  
**

As Tony slowly regained consciousness and forced his eyes open, he noticed several problems at once and had a hard time picking which one to try and fix first.

His shoulder and head hurt fairly badly, but he was pretty sure he wasn't bleeding, and since he was stuck on an elevator there was really nothing he could do to try and ease his pain. Plus, he had been shot before; this was nothing. The darkness, Tony decided, was the most pressing matter at the moment. He would need to see if he was going to try and fix the third problem, which was the unconscious Ziva lying on top of him. Also, it was disconcerting having one of the five senses completely blocked out. Actually, make that two, as everything was very quiet except for a high-pitched keening in his ears...

Tony reached into his pocket and grabbed his cell phone. He had no service in the elevator, but at least he could use the screen to provide a light source, feeble as it may be. He flipped it open and aimed the light at the third problem: Ziva. Normally if Tony had to categorize a situation involving Ziva lying on top of him he wouldn't put it in the "problem" section, but the fact that she was unconscious changed things. Also, he realized with a jolt, she was probably injured because, being on top of him, she had received the most damage from the falling debris.

She looked pale in the light of the cell phone, and Tony could see trickles of blood crossing her forehead. Fearing the worst, he pressed his fingers to her neck and closed his eyes in relief: her heart was still beating.

He decided that he should try and get her into a more comfortable position, as they would most likely be stuck in the elevator for a while; there were probably many other injured-dead?-people for the paramedics to tend to, and with them being in such an obscure location, it was unlikely that they would be the first to be rescued.

He put his cell phone in the corner so the light eerily illuminated the entire elevator and shifted Ziva off of him and into a sitting position against the wall. Making a place for him next to her, Tony started to think about the others-did McGee get out in time? What about Abby? Her lab was right next to the bomb. And Gibbs... no. Impossible. The silver-haired agent couldn't possibly be-

Tony was interrupted by the faint sound of Ziva moaning. Relieved that his partner was waking up and that his ears weren't ruined, he said, "Ziva?"

"Tony." she replied. She sounded sleepy. "Are you okay?"

"A little bruised in some spots, but that's it. You?"

"I am fine."

Tony chuckled. "Don't even try, Ziva."

"I have had worse."

"Well I don't doubt that, but come on. Be honest with me."

Ziva sighed. "I believe there is a cut on my head and my back is murdering me. I think some part of the roof fell on it."

"Killing you, Ziva. Your back is killing you."

She sighed again, this time exasperated. "Tony, we are stuck in an elevator and the entire Navy Yard blew up. My English is not the biggest problem on our hands."

He grinned. "Hey, just trying to save you from future embarrassment."

She rolled her eyes but gave a small smile. "How long was I out?"

Tony leaned his head back against the wall. "I'm not sure. I woke up just a few minutes before you did. But," he said, leaning closer to her and brushing some hair away from her face, "the blood on your forehead is still wet. We probably weren't out long."

Ziva snickered. "I am not sure if your methods intrigue me or disturb me, Tony."

"Hey, I'm just being resourceful." They were quiet for a moment. Then Tony spoke again. "How bad is your back, really?"

"I have feeling in my toes, if that is what you are asking."

"That just means you're not paralyzed. How much does it hurt?"

"It does not matter, Tony. Telling you is not going to help me at all."

"But it will help me," Tony looked at her, his eyes sincere. "Please," he added.

Ziva was quiet for a moment, then glanced up and met his eyes. Something unspoken passed between them. "It hurts significantly," she admitted. "But I promise you, it is not unbearable."

"And your head?"

"It stings."

"Here," he reached into his pocket and brought out his handkerchief. Slowly and gently, he wiped the drops of blood from her forehead and then gave it to her to press against the cut.

"Thank you," she murmured, breaking eye contract and holding the now-bloody handkerchief to her head.

"Wait." Tony grabbed his cell phone from the corner and aimed the light at the spot the handkerchief was covering. "I want to see how bad it is."

"Tony..."

"Ziva."

Reluctantly, she removed the handkerchief.

"A cut? Ziva, that's a gash!"

"Are they not the same thing?"

This time it was Tony who sighed in frustration. "A gash is worse." He put the cell phone back in the corner.

Ziva shrugged. "It is fine." She wiped away some blood that had slid from the gash while the makeshift bandage was removed and reapplied pressure on the wound.

Tony was getting annoyed. "Why do you refuse to admit that you're not fine?"

"Habit."

"Break it."

"Why?"

Tony turned to look at her, and his eyes bored into hers. "Because you're human and it's okay to admit it."

She looked away. "I know I am human."

"Then why don't you acknowledge it?"

"I told you. Habit."

"I told you. Break it."

She frowned. "Since when do I take orders from you?"

"It's not an order. It's a request. Although, considering I am senior field agent, I could make it an order if I wanted, Probette."

She rolled her eyes at the nickname. "Why should I consider your request?"

"Because I'm looking out for you."

Ziva turned to look at him, and his eyes were soft. This was dangerous territory, she knew. A place they were both very familiar with. They shouldn't talk about things like this. They were co-workers, and there was Rule 12. She had implied her feelings for him and he had implied his feelings for her and that was as far as they could go.

"Tony..."

"I know."

She held his gaze for a few seconds more and then looked away. Ziva was beginning to hear shouts and voices from outside the elevator; the paramedics had arrived.

Tony spoke again. "Do you think the others made it out in time?"

Her voice was small. "I hope so. We can at least count on Ducky and Jimmy being okay. They were not here when the bomb went off."

"But Abby and McGee and Gibbs..."

"I am sure they made it out." Ziva's words were confident but her voice was timid.

"But we didn't."

"Yes, but we also took the elevator. They were probably smart enough to use the stairs."

"Why did we take the elevator, anyways?" Tony asked, pointing at the sign on the wall that proclaimed "IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, USE STAIRS" in bold lettering.

"I am not entirely sure. You are the one that dragged us on here," Ziva replied.

"Hey now, if there was any dragging going on, it was done by you, Zee-vah," Tony said. "Did you or did you not grab my arm and say you weren't leaving without me?"

Dangerous territory. Again. Ziva lowered her eyes and decided to, as usual, not tell the whole truth. "I did. You know how hard it would be to find a replacement senior field agent."

Tony laughed, trying to cover up his confusion. Did she mean that or was she simply trying to prevent having the conversation they had been avoiding for so long? "Ah, so that's it. You had the team's best interest at heart."

"Of course. As do you. That is why you were looking out for me, yes?" Ziva's eyes were unreadable.

"Of course." Tony replied. They just looked at each other, the tension building until-

"HEY!" A voice shouted from behind the elevator doors. "IS ANYBODY IN THERE?"

Tony looked away and shouted back, "Two NCIS agents. Medical attention is needed for one of us."

"Both of us, actually," Ziva butted in, smirking. "Don't think you can get out of going to Bethesda if if I can't!" she said in a lower tone so only Tony would hear.

"Alright," the voice replied. "We're working on getting you out. Hang in there!"

"Do we have a choice?" Tony said softly to Ziva. "I mean, we are in a box hanging from cables..."

Ziva groaned. "Really, Tony? Must you make lame jokes?"

"I must. Did I ever tell you about the chicken that-"

"Please hurry!" Ziva shouted to their rescuer.

Tony chuckled. He didn't think he would mind if the rescuer didn't hurry. This was going to be fun.


End file.
